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Advanced technology that gets blood test results faster

High-performance device supports medical diagnostics

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Working at the cutting edge of medical diagnostics, Biosurfit has reduced waiting times for blood test results through reliable, high-performance technology that requires just a single drop of blood. With EU financial support, the Portuguese company now has its sights set on the global market.

Blood sample analysis in just 5 minutes

Biosurfit is revolutionising blood sample analysis with technology that gives a diagnosis in five minutes using a single drop of blood. It was founded in 2006 after a doctor’s appointment following which it took two days for blood test results to come through. João Fonseca, who has a doctorate in physics, set about finding a solution, moving into the field of medical diagnostics once he had finished a research project at the University of Lisbon.

Several years later, Biosurfit created Spinit, a small diagnostic device in which, as Fonseca explains, it is possible to use “different disposable consumables in the form of a disc, on which a drop of blood is placed, and which gives the result in five minutes or even less”. He adds that it can be used in various clinical situations.

Headquartered in Lisbon, the company began with a team of six people and now employs 125. It has received total investment of over €36 million and “the support of the EU was crucial,” Fonseca emphasises. EU funding for Biosurfit helped to create skilled jobs and support research and development with a view to improving healthcare and patients’ quality of life.

Spinit was launched in 2015, at a cost of around €2,000. Its main market is the Netherlands, followed by Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom. To date, 650 have been sold.

“We have had very good feedback. We seem to have solved a specific problem for people. We use only a minute amount of blood, and can produce an analysis that under normal circumstances would involve pain, time and a lot of resources,” says Fonseca. Biosurfit now aims to become a global player and sell 15,000 devices by 2020.